A Higher Realm
by psquare
Summary: [RinKouga] When a dark force rises out of dormancy, the whole of Feudal Japan is pushed towards the brink of a fate more terrifying than can be imagined. Its destiny lies on a thin, very special bond, that can make... or break... the world as we know it.
1. I

_**A Higher Realm**_

_**I**_

The night was a study in stillness.

Even the breeze had abandoned its customary journey through the leaves of the trees, and there was no sound from the population of the forest. The skies were a swirling mass of clouds, purple and dark, escalating the sinister nature of the situation. The chill of the still air rose with every second.

It was as if the very Earth was taking a deep, deep breath.

The silence was shattered abruptly then, as, accompanied by powerful gusts of wind, the clouds congregated to form a swirling vortex. Lightning erupted from that vortex, striking the ground. The ground heaved. Lightning struck again, and one could immediately realise that what was happening was not normal, not by a long shot.

Lightning never struck the same place twice.

The place where it struck finally crumbled, and slowly, something rose out of it, surrounded by a blue aura. It was the decayed remains of a demon hand. After that, one by one, more parts rose out of the pit, each in various stages of decay. Then, with a thunderous roar, the enormous skeleton of the mysterious creature emerged, small avalanches of rocks, soil and even trees sliding down its sides.

The swirling vortex of cloud in the sky lowered itself closer to the ground, surrounding the hovering excavations like a huge hurricane. The speed of the winds increased further and further, until it had reached a crescendo, before slowing down altogether. A brilliant light shone from the eye of the hurricane, only to dissipate abruptly, along with the clouds. Once more the night was deathly silent; once more did the Earth stop. The remnant of the spectacular phenomenon was surprisingly small – the creature didn't seem to exceed even five feet, with short, knobbly legs, a thin torso, two long arms terminating with dexterous, claw-tipped hands… its appearance gave no absolutely no relation to the gargantuan proportions of its origin.

Then the creature raised its head, and smiled.

The stillness suddenly grew even more profound; the silence screamed the scream of those tortured for a lifetime in the deepest pits of hell…

And the darkness smiled along with it.

* * *

"Keep quiet!"

The hurried whisper and an outstretched arm stopped Ginta and Hakaku abruptly in their tracks. Well, one should say, the hurried whisper and _crashing_ into the outstretched arm, for that was they did, running full tilt as they were. The wind knocked out of them, they complied with the whispered order, too winded to do otherwise.

Soon they had joined their leader in crouching behind some bushes, apparently waiting for something.

"You needn't have stopped us like _that_, Kouga," Hakaku complained after some time in a low voice. "We might've broken a rib or two…"

Their leader rolled his eyes. "You're _demons_. Your ribs don't break that easily."

"Maybe, but…"

"Sssh. Do shut up for a while."

Ginta and Hakaku exchanged confused glances, but didn't dare speak another word. Kouga seemed to be in a trickier mood than usual, and they didn't want to incur his wrath more than they could help. They waited for some more time, before a vague grunting sounded from the distance. A welcome smell hit the wolf demons' noses, and Hakaku's eyes lit up. "You're brilliant, Kouga!" he cried out, scrambling to his feet. "Let's…"

"Shut up!" Kouga growled through gritted teeth, pulling his lieutenant down roughly. "You'll scare it away if you do that, moron!"

"Oh." Chastised, Hakaku returned to his crouch.

"I suppose we wait for it to come here, _then_…" Ginta's eyes sparkled.

"_Then,_ we get our first whole meal in three weeks," Hakaku finished with a grin. "Excellent."

"Don't be so premature, you two," Kouga whispered with an amused smirk. "As the elders say, 'don't count the frog-demon spawn before they hatch'."

Ginta scratched his head thoughtfully with a clawed finger. "I don't think it was 'frog-demon spawn', Kouga."

"Yeah," Hakaku supplemented. "I think the saying has more to do with birds…"

"Shut _up_ already, you two," Kouga interrupted, annoyed. "It's coming."

Kouga was soon proved true: a fat, hair-covered boar soon entered the area of foliage they were keeping an eye on, grunting quite happily, oblivious to its potential diners hiding among the bushes. It bent its head down and pulled at the grass with its mouth, settling down to some peaceful grazing.

Kouga motioned the other two to split up and hide in positions around the boar, so it had no chance of escaping. Mouths watering, Ginta and Hakaku acquiesced readily. Soon everything was in place – nothing could stop the three wolf demons now from capturing that deliciously fat boar and devouring it for dinner.

The boar grunted in satisfaction, tearing off the grass with renewed vigour.

They were so close now… any moment, and it would all be theirs… calf muscles tensed in preparation to leap… claws itched for a chance to dig into boar hide... breath caught in chest, they executed a silent mental countdown.

_Four… three… two… one…_

"Die, _animal_!"

The boar's surprised grunt preceded the moment where it was surrounded by a ball of fire, and it crashed into a nearby tree. The fire dissipated, and the smoking, neatly roasted corpse of the boar was all that was left. Kouga, Ginta and Hakaku jumped out of their hiding places in absolute bafflement. _What just happened…?_

Still gaping, they were interrupted by a very obvious way to draw attention, behind them.

"_Ahem_."

They turned slowly to face a diminutive frog demon, magic staff in scabby hand. Kouga's bafflement turned to pure anger. "Jaken," he growled. "So _you_ were the one who killed our boar, eh?"

"Your boar?" Jaken snorted. "Hardly. You hesitated for too long, and you paid the price. That's all."

"You have real guts to speak to Kouga like that, _frog-demon_," Ginta said, scowling fiercely at Jaken. "We could tear you apart right now and here…"

Jaken raised his staff. "You will face the flame, if you dare try!"

Kouga and Jaken glared at each other, before they were interrupted by a young female voice and the sounds of footsteps against the leaves, coming toward their direction. "Jaken?" it said, sounding louder and louder as the female came closer and closer. "Where are you? Did you catch it?"

"Rin," Jaken murmured. Soon, the foliage rustled and a young girl emerged, no older than eight or nine years. A smile lit up her face as she spotted Jaken, but almost instantly faded away as her gaze shifted to rest upon Kouga and his lieutenants. Kouga's frown grew deeper. _What is this human girl doing with Jaken?_

"Ah, Rin," Jaken said, turning toward her. "I have captured the boar – there will be plenty to eat for tonight."

Rin nodded, moving closer to Jaken. "What are _they_ doing over here?" she asked, pointing toward the wolf demons, a tremor of fear in her normally cheerful voice.

"Oh, they are nothing but _nuisances_," Jaken said derisively. "Let's get going with the boar; I'm sure Lord Sesshoumaru will be coming soon."

At this, Ginta's and Hakaku's faces paled. "Sess- Sesshoumaru?" They clutched at each other, trembling.

Kouga's only reaction was to roll his eyes. He really didn't care whether it was Sesshoumaru or not, but suddenly, his curiosity peaked. Sesshoumaru was the most cold-blooded demon he had ever met; so what was _he_ doing with this little human girl? Suddenly he felt like he didn't understand the dangerous dog demon at all, and he was sensible enough not to jump into fights with something he did not understand. Amazing how different Sesshoumaru was from his mutt brother, Inu Yasha…

A spark of hope lighted in his mind briefly, before it was extinguished by the sight of his two 'trusted lieutenants' cowering like idiots. Kouga sighed. "I think it's about time we left."

Everybody present, Jaken and Rin included, stared at him in surprise. Obviously they had expected him to fight with Sesshoumaru. "There's no point in arguing with fools," Kouga said, turning away. "It's not like we can never find other prey to catch."

With that, he was gone, the dust of his speedy departure rising into the air. Ginta and Hakaku, sighing as if burdened with all of the world's problems, started running after their leader, with shouts of "Kouga! Wait up!"

Rin gave an almost audible sigh of relief, and smiled at Jaken. "Okay, then. Shall I call for Ah-Un?"

Just as she raised her fingers to her lips to give the whistle for Sesshoumaru's two-headed steed, Jaken interrupted her. "Rin," he said. "Tell me: you don't like Kouga, do you?"

Rin turned and stared at him, inclining her head in a thoughtful angle. "Kouga? I don't know… I don't hate him, if that's what you mean."

Jaken frowned, and prodded unconsciously at the boar carcass in an impatient gesture. "No, that's not what I meant."

She shrugged. "Well, what am I supposed to say? He killed me once, yes, but I really don't hold it as a grudge against him. I try not to think about it anymore. Besides--" She suddenly smiled. "Besides, when I'm so happy with you and Lord Sesshoumaru, why should I think of such dark things, anyway?"

Jaken only rolled his eyes, and Rin, assuming that the conversation was over, proceeded to whistle for Ah-Un. The frog-demon immersed himself in his thoughts.

The answer which he had just got from Rin was nothing more than he expected, of course. So just why _did_ he ask the question? Had he been expecting something different? No, of course not. As unfortunate as it was, he had got to know Rin quite well, from all the months of travelling with her. She was a simple child, very easily pleased. Just a small acknowledgement of her presence from Lord Sesshoumaru – a grunt, a word, sometimes even a small smile – sent her into transports of delight, which would accompany her for the rest of the day. Jaken had been quite amused by it.

Of course, he hadn't been so amused when his conscience drew parallels between him and the same behaviour.

But the point was, she was easy to understand – even for Jaken, who simply didn't bother to understand 'petty humans'. But there was something there within – something his subconscious was subtly hinting at – that Jaken was sure even Lord Sesshoumaru didn't understand.

And he didn't like that at all.

* * *

Solitude.

A precious thing, it was – especially for Kouga, and he'd learnt to treasure the rare moments of peace that came by in his life. The starry midnight sky was spread above him, tempting to him to just lose himself among the stars and forget the humdrum of his life for a few blissful moments. But he couldn't do that, he knew – there was just too much to think about, especially now.

He glanced at his side to see his two companions lying on the grass, mouths agape, snoring loudly. _The fools_, he thought affectionately. Leaning against the tree he was setting next to, Kouga closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander freely, collecting and fusing disjointed thoughts.

The picture that almost immediately popped into his head was that of Sesshoumaru, and then of the little human girl who accompanied him – Rin, as Jaken called her. Trying to get over his disbelief over the fact that Sesshoumaru allowed humans to travel with him without killing them, he focused on the little girl instead. Her young face – her eyes – was hauntingly familiar…

Then he remembered, as memories entered his mind, almost grudgingly. The day he had first met Kagome… the last time his wolves had feasted upon human flesh… the screaming villagers, torn to pieces by demon claws… a little girl with a limp, who tried to escape… the little girl whom he had ordered his wolves to chase and kill…

He suddenly opened his eyes, the blood draining out of his face. The girl was supposed to be _dead_! How could she have survived to meet Sesshoumaru…? Had his wolves lied to him? No, of course not. They were bound by blood loyalty to the pack leader, such that they could never, ever lie to him – and they had informed him that they had killed her. And yet, only earlier that day he had met her, alive and well! She didn't smell of death and decay, like some resurrected corpses did – she was a living, breathing human being, alright.

Then how…?

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain control of himself. He was being silly, surely – he had seen stranger things happen before, so why did this girl have such an effect on him? No, it wasn't the fact that she was still alive, he decided. It was something else – her eyes. When she had looked at him, with those huge, brown eyes of hers, wide with fear and painful memories… guilt had made its presence felt within him, crushing his heart with its enormous weight. Maybe he felt like this, he mused, because those eyes looked a lot like Kagome's.

But it went deeper than that.

An emotion – elusive, intangible, indescribable – had flickered between them that moment, and Kouga had suddenly felt deep dread – a dread, he realised as he leant against the tree, that even he hadn't recognised then. There was a greater power at work here, and he didn't know what it was. It wasn't Naraku; it wasn't the Sekhioutai, it wasn't like anything he'd ever faced before. He didn't know its intentions, he didn't even know whether it existed or not. His lips set themselves into a determined line as he stared at the night sky.

But he wasn't going to rest until he found out.

* * *


	2. II

**_A/N:_** Thanks, reviewers! Here's hoping you continue to enjoy, and review...

_**II**_

Another day, another journey.

Kagome Higurashi took in a deep breath, revelling in the warmth of the sunny weather. A cool breeze ruffled the tops of the tallest trees, like a pat from an affectionate father, and her companions had gotten along quite amicably through the morning – it seemed to be turning out like one of those rare days where everything was perfect; where everything happened the way you've always wanted them to.

_But then, of course,_ she thought with a rueful smile. _Perfect is **boring**_

A sudden spark of spiritual energy in the distance drew her out of her musings unceremoniously, and she turned around sharply, just as Inu Yasha and Miroku stopped in their tracks.

"Did you feel that, Kagome?" Miroku asked, and she nodded. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the direction of the energy they were feeling. "It feels… strange. It's not evil, and it's definitely not friendly either…"

"All in all, it sounds like something dangerous," Kagome finished for him.

"I don't know about what you guys can feel," Inu Yasha interrupted, "But I sure can _smell_ death. Maybe we should check it out."

The rest of the group agreeing with him, they started towards the direction Inu Yasha had pointed out. Soon they were navigating through a rather dense patch of forest, and the eeriness of the whole situation struck them like a thousand bricks. "This is strange," Sango said finally. "The forest is so… _quiet_. It's not supposed to be like this." Knotting her brow in a frown, she continued. "Besides, I don't remember there being any village or settlement of any sort in this area…"

"But it's not human death that I smelt," Inu Yasha said, frowning himself. "Nor was it demon…"

"Maybe it's best that we don't speculate much before seeing this for ourselves," Shippo said, intervening. Kagome smiled at the young fox-demon. Sometimes Shippo just had a knack for saying the right things. "I think you're right, Shippo. Besides, we're here already." Pulling aside a curtain of fronds, she stepped into an open grassy clearing, followed by the rest of the group. Immediately, like a slap on the face, she was hit by strong waves of the energy she had felt earlier. Spots danced before her eyes, before she had regained control enough to focus on what was in the middle of the clearing.

And immediately felt dizzy again.

In front of her was the biggest crater she had ever seen in her entire life. Often she had heard on television, and read in books, the enormous size of the craters on the Moon, Mars, or various other planets. She had never understood the _real_ magnitude of the enormous measurements thrown about so carelessly in those discussions. Well, she decided, the sight of this crater was a crash course on just _how_ to understand.

She looked to see the others – even Inu Yasha – staring at the crater, speechless. Sango was the first to recover. "This is _enormous_," she muttered. "What demon do you think could've caused this?"

"I don't know," Inu Yasha said, peering over the edge of the crater into the seemingly bottomless abyss below. "But the stench of death is the strongest here."

Miroku joined Kagome at the edge of the crater. "Not only that, but that strange power I felt has its centre here, too." He shot an inquiring look at Kagome, who nodded. "That's right." She sighed. "Not that the feeling is any clearer now, though." She stepped even closer to the edge, little stones at her feet tumbling into the darkness below. "I think that I can see something…" She frowned. "It looks a bit like… I can't say for sure, it's so dark."

Miroku stepped forward to join her in peering over the edge. "You're right, Kagome," he said. "In fact, it reminds me _oooofffff_…!"

His sentence was cut short by a scream – in which Kagome promptly joined – as the ground beneath them crumbled away into nothingness under their combined weight. Before Inu Yasha and Sango even had a chance to react, Kagome and Miroku were tumbling into the abyss below, their screams soon fading away.

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha ran forward, and squinted into the darkness. "Kagome!" he yelled again. "Miroku! Where –" He was interrupted by Sango gripping his hand hard. "Be quiet!" she hissed, gesturing at the walls of the crater. "It's very unstable – your yelling might trigger an avalanche that might bury them forever!"

"Oh." Inu Yasha scowled, and crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're planning to leave them there?"

Sango and Shippo rolled their eyes. How thick-headed could the hanyou get? "No, I'm not," she said. "All I'm saying is that we should go in there carefully. Kirara!" On her call, the cat-demon transformed into her bigger, fiercer self, and Sango mounted her, Shippo jumping onto her shoulder. "I just hope that they haven't met with any serious injuries."

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes, his nose twitching. "Or something even _worse_."

* * *

Falling, falling, falling…

Kagome's screams echoed in Miroku's ears, the anticipation of a shattering landing sending waves of paralysis down his body. The cold, rushing wind sent needles through his skin, and eternal night closed in around him with the speed of a cat-demon at its absolute prime. Back prickling with apprehension, Miroku squeezed his eyes shut.

Finally, with a resounding _thud_, he landed on his back on the ground, which was surprisingly soft. Before he had a chance to even catch his breath, Kagome landed right on top of him, knocking the wind out him again. They lay in that position for a moment, too winded to do anything, before Kagome rolled off him and staggered to her feet, gasping. "Mi… Miroku, you… okay?"

Miroku groaned. "I've been better." Slowly, carefully testing his body for any broken bones, he got to his feet. Immediately white-hot pain flared in his back. "Ow…" he moaned, his gloved hand moving toward the injured area, while the other instinctively groped for his staff.

"Here," Kagome said, handing it over to him. Looking on sympathetically, while he leaned heavily on the staff, she said, "I'm really sorry about this… I really shouldn't have –"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Miroku said through gritted teeth. "It's just a cramp – it'll be gone in a few minutes." A concerned light entered his eyes. "Are you –?"

"I'm all right," Kagome assured him. "Just a few bruises."

Nodding, Miroku looked around him. The light filtering in from above wasn't enough to suitably light more than a few metres in front of him. From what he could see, the ground was mostly soft sand – which was probably why he hadn't broken his spine upon landing. This reminded him strongly of something – this, mingled with the energy he was sensing, but… he just couldn't place his finger on it, _yet…_

The sound of soft landings on the sand in the distance abruptly derailed his thoughts. Forgetting his cramp for a while, he stepped instinctively in front of Kagome, staff at the ready. "Who… who's there?" he called.

The sound of the footsteps approached closer and closer, and Miroku could hear Kagome pulling the string of her bow taut behind him. Finally whoever the footsteps belonged to came into the light. Kagome gave a sigh of relief.

"Inu Yasha."

The half-demon's features relaxed into a smile. "Good – you two are safe."

Miroku shifted his body into a more relaxed stance only to wince from the pain that immediately shot up his spine. "Lucky is more like it."

Soon, Sango, Shippo and Kirara came into the light, and were equally as relieved to see their comrades safe and mostly unhurt. Sango dismounted Kirara and pushed at the soft sand with her foot. "Well, it's kind of obvious what happened here," she announced.

Miroku turned to face her, startled. "It is?"

Sango eyed him strangely. "Of course." She bent down and held up a fistful of the sand, letting it slip between her fingers. "Something was buried here – something very huge, apparently. This _something_ must've been recently dug up…"

_Oh._ Miroku could've smacked his head. This whole crater was a huge, dug-up grave – probably for some demon, which would explain the stench of death, and the energy that he and Kagome had felt… He should've noticed it earlier… and here he was calling himself a _monk_!

Beside him, Kagome nodded her head. "It makes sense. Still, there's something I really don't understand here…"

Miroku stepped forward now, determined to not show himself as a complete imbecile. "This place was probably used to seal a demon – a very powerful one, by the looks of it. If I had a little more light here, maybe I could see what…"

Kagome hefted down her enormous backpack, which Shippo had thoughtfully brought down with him on Kirara. After a few moments of digging inside, she extracted a battery-run torch and flipped the switch on. A beam of light immediately pierced the darkness, bringing into focus the vast bottom of the grave that they had fallen into.

"Shine it on the walls," Miroku instructed.

Kagome nodded and shone the beam slowly over the crater walls, before the torch-light finally lit up something other than rock and mud. It was a yellowed, frayed piece of paper with unintelligible scribbling on it, so faded, that they were unable to discern even the colour of the ink used. Miroku approached it slowly, his jaw hanging open in fascination. "What is it?" Sango asked.

"It's a magic seal." He raised his hand toward it, but immediately drew back as blue energy sparked around it. "A very powerful one at that." He squinted at the paper. "But it seems to have lost most of its power recently – which would explain how whatever was sealed here escaped." He placed his staff against the seal and closed his eyes, muttering under his breath. The paper peeled off and crumbled into nothingness.

Everything grew silent, then – the earth began to shake. An avalanche of rocks and mud began to start tumbling down toward the base, and Miroku snapped open his eyes. "It wasn't supposed to do that!" he cried.

"No time to talk about that now." Inu Yasha pulled Kagome onto his back, and was soon leaping up the crumbling crater walls to safety. Miroku was not far behind, climbing onto a transformed Kirara with Sango and Shippo. With a roar, the cat-demon rose into the air just as the sand and rocks poured into the place they had been standing moments before.

Kirara circled the clearing, before finally spotting Inu Yasha and Kagome standing a good twenty feet away from the edges of the collapsed crater, and flew to land by them. No sooner had she landed, though, did Inu Yasha begin his tirade.

"What were you _doing_?" he yelled at Miroku, as the monk got down from the cat-demon in stiff, jerky movements. "If endangering your and _Kagome's_ lives once was not enough, you had to do it twice! And this time when all of us were there! If we hadn't –"

"Do listen to what I have to say, Inu Yasha," Miroku interrupted tiredly. "The incantation that I used was meant for finding more about the demon that had been sealed in there. However, it seems that –"

"We didn't _need_ to know that!" Inu Yasha broke in, unable to contain himself. "If the knowledge you gain is at the cost of risking Kag – _our_ lives, then –"

"Inu _Yasha_," Kagome said warningly, exasperated. Miroku cashed in on this break to continue. "As I was saying, it seems that whatever was sealed there was not even a demon. That is the only reasonable explanation for the rebounding of my incantation."

There was absolute silence following this statement, before Sango proceeded to ask, almost tentatively, "Are you sure that this might not have been a _half_-demon? Like Naraku, maybe?"

Miroku shook his head resolutely. "There is no trace of any sort of demonic presence – full, half, or otherwise; I'm sure of it."

"Hmph." Inu Yasha crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, if it has nothing to do with demons, we shouldn't be worrying about it."

"I think that's exactly why we _should_ worry about it, guys," Kagome said thoughtfully. "I mean, we got an unknown presence here – a powerful one, judging from the seal and the enormity of its grave – and we have no idea how to deal with it. What if this… _thing_ holds the key to our travels? Could it be that one of the last Sacred Jewel shards resurrected this creature?"

An interested light entered Inu Yasha's eyes, while Shippo nodded sagely. "You know, you got a point there, Kagome. I think we should go after it, and –"

"Wait a second," Sango broke in. "We don't know where this thing is right now; we don't even know _what_ it is, exactly, besides the fact that it a resurrected creature of gargantuan proportions that is neither demon nor human. If you ask me, there cannot be vaguer clues that that for finding something."

Miroku smiled. "Oh, I don't think so, Sango."

The others turned to look at him, startled. "You mean to say you know how to…?"

Miroku's smile widened into a grin. "Just leave it to me."

* * *

She didn't like it.

Rin waded idly through the knee-level water at the river bank, not really enthusiastic about catching any dinner that night. Jaken leaned against a tree not too far away from where she was standing, eyes seemingly watching her, but actually immersed in thought. The skies were the usual star-spotted navy-blue, and the sound of the breeze and the gurgling water were nothing out of the ordinary – nothing to cause any sort of trouble. And yet…

She didn't like it.

With a sigh, she came out of the water and sat on the soft sand at the edge of the river bank, allowing the water to gently lap at her toes while she hugged her knees to her chest. Maybe she felt like this because Lord Sesshoumaru was not there. His presence, though cold, was always comforting. But she couldn't be by his side _all_ the time, and she understood that. Then why…?

The image of a certain wolf-demon floated into her head, and she shuddered.

Just then, the speed of the breeze increased tenfold, and the trees started swaying and groaning in the abruptly increased velocity. Rin immediately stood up, only to be nearly blown away by the wind. "Jaken!" she called desperately, as the sand thrown up by the wind obscured her vision. "Jaken, can you hear me? Jaken!" But her words were stolen by the winds, and she had to accept the fact that she was quite alone until the freak storm subsided.

_I should find something to hold on to and wait_, she decided, and began to grope around for a stronghold like a tree to hold on to. Just then, she heard something that made her heart sink right down to the soles of her feet.

The sound of the river water, churned up by the hurricane-like winds, swelling.

Her efforts to find an anchor doubled, but it was too late. The force of the overflowing whirlpool of water hit her like a rampaging bull, and she was thrown back. She hit something hard – white hot pain exploded in her head, then…

Everything went black.

* * *


	3. III

**_A/N:_** Thanks to those who've reviewed so far. Hope you continue to enjoy it!

_**III**_

Fire. _Clang_. Darkness.

"Toutousai?"

Fire.

"Myouga? Good to see you again."

_Clang._

"Enough with the pleasantries already. You know what I'm here about."

Darkness.

"Yes, I suppose I do." A pause. "It couldn't have chosen a worse time to rear its ugly head, eh?"

Fire.

"I have to say that I agree with you on that point. But I suppose that it's best that we get this matter over within this century itself – we can only live for so long, you know…"

_Clang._

"True. But who are you going to leave the matter to? Inu Yasha?"

Darkness.

"Don't be ridiculous, Toutousai. As admirably as the young master has dispatched matters like this in the past, considering the nature of this situation, don't you think Sesshoumaru would be better equipped to handle it?"

Fire.

"Perhaps. But he cannot handle it all on his own, even though the cause almost entirely concerns him… Inu Yasha and we – yes, _we_, Myouga! – must help him, whether he wants it or not."

_Clang_.

"I – I suppose so." A sigh. "But this is certainly going to be far, far from an enjoyable experience."

Darkness.

"Has it ever?"

* * *

It had happened.

Kouga stared at the entrance of his tribe's cave, mouth agape, nearly frothing with untold-of rage. Ginta and Hakaku, who had just arrived by his side, whimpered pitifully, baffled out of their wits. Kouga, for once, couldn't blame them: if it weren't for his high status, and his pride – and obviously the reassurance that the pulsating Sacred Jewel shards in his legs gave him – he would've been in pretty much the same state.

For an entire army of humans stood in front of the cave, holding the forty-odd wolves inside at spear and sword-points, as well strange tunnel-like metallic weapons –

For half-a-dozen wolf-demon corpses already lay about in the ground, with not a single human corpse to complement them.

He had often had nightmares of the same vein, but he had never considered its happening as plausible, until…

Until now.

"What's – what's going on here?" he snarled, trying to keep some semblance of dignity. "How dare you kill members of my kind, when we have obviously never provoked you in any way so far?"

"They tried to rebel," the man who seemed to be the General of the Army said matter-of-factly. "You would be the leader, I assume?"

"You've bloody well assumed right," Kouga growled. His fists clenched, sharp claws digging into the skin of his palm until blood flowed. "Shall we talk this over, or shall we negotiate _my_ way?" He finished his sentence in the most threatening tone he could muster.

"You will talk," the General said, "with our Lord."

It was at that instant that Kouga noticed a slender figure, bedecked in grand silk robes laced with the finest of intricate embroidery, standing next to the General, almost in the towering man's shadow. At the general's last words, he stepped forward.

"I am Takeda Kuranosuke," he said, drawing himself to full height, "of the Takeda Castle not far from here."

_Lord of a castle, eh?_ Kouga studied him with disguised interest. The man _looked_ like a lord, alright, with handsome features that were sharply aristocratic in appearance, his grand robes and regal bearing. But as far as character went… even Kouga could sense that a large part of the success of Takeda castle's exploits owed itself to the stone-faced, bulky general, than the handsome young lord.

"I am Kouga, leader of this wolf-tribe. I demand an explanation for this atrocity before I kill you all."

Kuranosuke flinched slightly, but mustering up courage, continued to speak. "I'm afraid that is not going to happen. You see, it is _we_ who have come to kill _you_."

Kouga's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Yes." A sudden gust of chill wind blew then, scattering dust in its wake and making the flags of the Takeda army flutter. Kuranosuke's eyes narrowed, as an unprecedented feral glint entered them. "The… _home_… of your _barbaric_ tribe is positioned too close to the homes of my people for comfort. For years, we have been suffering in the apprehension of you _demons_ coming and pillaging the villages, _murdering_ – taking everything we love and care for away from us." A sudden passion had entered the young Lord's voice. "I have come here now, with my trusted army and weapons with potency beyond compare, and I will finally relieve my people of this problem." He took a deep breath, as Kouga's eyes flared, and his heart raced. "I will kill you all!"

"What?" Kouga was taken aback. He hadn't killed a single human (intentionally, at least) since the day he had seen Kagome… so what had this guy to complain about? No, there was something wrong here… "You will do no such thing," Kouga growled. "We have not attacked your people for more than six months now, and we have no intention of doing so in the near future, either."

Another gust of wind blew, chilling even Kouga's demonic body to the bone.

"I don't care," Kuranosuke said calmly, his voice cold and hard. He gestured toward his army. "Men, aim."

All of the men in the forefront raised their metallic tunnel-like weapons, pointing their barrels at Kouga and the rest of the wolf tribe. Ginta and Hakaku started to tremble violently, while Kouga's body tensed in preparation to fight. _This is **not** him; it doesn't make sense but I **know** it…_

A sneer traced itself onto Kuranosuke's lips, which cracked slightly, as if not used to such a curl of the mouth.

"Fire!"

Tiny comets of fire moving with impossible speed shot out of the weapons at a single twitch of the men's fingers. Kouga avoided the first round of bullets by a hair-breadth, as he swivelled to the side. Most of the others weren't as lucky, though – at least a dozen bloody wolf-corpses lay about in the sand. Kouga saw red.

"_You_…!" he cried, baring his claws and running toward them at full speed.

Kuranosuke merely gestured again. All the weapons now pointed at him, but it was too late to stop now. There were some cries of distress from the wolf-tribe, and Kouga was able to recognise Ginta's and Hakaku's as the loudest.

"_Kouga_!"

_Sorry you two…_

Kouga leapt up, claws outstretched, ready to tear the human apart. Almost expressionlessly, the gunners swung their barrels toward him, and fired.

He _saw_ more than he felt then – he saw two metallic spheres dig into his legs with a speed even he couldn't match at his prime, bringing out twin fountains of blood, along with whose froth his Sacred Jewel shards popped out. Somewhere, in some detached part of his mind, he wondered. _What a coincidence…_

Then feeling hit him rather unceremoniously – pain blasted him right in mid-air, every single one of his nerves on fire, screaming pitifully. Almost as if time had congealed – as it seemed to the onlookers – he completed what seemed like a long, long fall to land roughly on his back. The white-hot pain he saw was interspersed with short bouts of absolute darkness, making his vision a di-chromic spectrum of agony.

Finally, his eyes closed, enveloping him in a darkness that ended his agony – at least temporarily.

Kuranosuke looked on, his lips still twisted in an uncharacteristic sneer. "And so the great wolf-demon is defeated." He bent down and picked up the two brightly glowing Sacred Jewel shards. Smiling in their soft glow, he whispered, "_Dominance by death…_" He nodded slowly to himself. "_Death, indeed…_"

Pocketing the Jewel Shards in his voluminous cloak, Kuranosuke climbed onto his horse. Motioning toward his general, he gave his order in a curt voice, before proceeding to leave the blasted place.

"Kill them all."

And sentencing the demoralised tribe to thus fate, the young lord rode away – his mid-battle flight stemming more from disgust, rather than from any fear of being in harm's way. Some sane part of his mind wondered: since when had he felt like this? This – this freedom, this fresh realisation of the resources he had at hand, of the immense power he wielded, of methods he could scheme to obtain _more_? It wasn't even something he could pin-point, but then he found that he didn't even _want_ to pin-point.

Why should he, anyway?

Patting the cloak pocket that held the Sacred Jewel shards, he smiled. He had better things to do.

And, meanwhile, unbeknownst to him and his army, two wolf-demons slunk away into the night, their hearts and minds as heavy as Kuranosuke's was buoyant. And yet, when the time came, they vowed to avenge the humiliating defeat of their leader…

… whatever the cost.

* * *

Thirsty.

Rin opened her cracked lips, sucking in air in ragged gasps, and should've been appreciating the fact that she was still alive, even after having seemingly cracked her skull against the tough bark of a tree. She lay on the forest floor, sunlight filtering in between the tree branches. It was a wonderment that demons hadn't got to her unconscious body already, but she did not pay attention to any of this.

By Gods, she was _thirsty_!

She opened her eyes after a struggle, her vision a blur. Raising her hand a couple of inches, and a dropping it back again, she tried to move the rest of her body. _Water, I need water…_

Suddenly, a hand cupped the back of her head, raising it gently, and the edge of an earthen vessel was pressed against her lips. Before she could start to wonder who it was, or even try to try and clear her vision enough to see the person, the small vessel was tilted, and she could feel cold – oh, so delightfully cold! – water lapping against her dry lips. She parted her lips fully, allowing the soothingly chill water to moisten her tongue – which absorbed the moisture like a great desert – and down her throat.

The drink seemed to have some magical effect on her, for she felt better already, and could blink her vision into focus. She found herself staring at a young woman, whose honest brown eyes shone with concern. She looked like any regular village girl – dressed in a nondescript kimono, with a white apron around the waist, and a scarf on her head to tie back the hair. She smiled as Rin stared at her.

"Ha, I'm glad to see that you're finally awake," she said, her voice holding genuine relief. She held up the small earthen vessel she had in one hand. "Thought you might feel thirsty once you did."

Rin smiled at her gratefully, and slowly sat up. Slowly, because every moment seemed to trigger waves of pain emanating from her head. She raised a tentative hand to her head, trying to feel the extent of her injury. She could feel the hairs toward the back of her head thick and encrusted with dried blood, and she shuddered, quickly drawing her hand away. She did not even want to _see_ how bad it was…

"It's pretty bad," the girl said from her side, interpreting Rin's actions accurately. "But don't worry – it's nothing the doctor of my village can't fix. Come, I'll take you to him, if you're feeling up to it."

Rin started to nod – then decided against it as her head sent a rather painful _No!_ – and settled for another grateful smile, trying to put in as much of her acquiescence as possible into her expression. The woman seemed to understand, thankfully, for she helped Rin to her feet, and dust her kimono. "So," she said. "What's your name?"

Rin opened her mouth to speak – but no sound came out. Frowning, she tried once again, but she couldn't seem to let out anything other than breath. The woman clicked her tongue sympathetically. "You can't speak, can you?"

Her eyes glazed with panic and confusion, Rin tried again. "_No!_" she mouthed. "_Rin! Rin! My name is Rin!_"

The woman squinted. "Are you trying to tell me your name?"

Rin's eyes widened, and her head almost imperceptibly inclined toward the front – _Yes_.

"Oh. It's Kil, is it? No? Kin? Pin? Nin? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm getting really confused – I never was good at reading lips... It's _Lin_, you say? Well, finally, I seemed to have got it."

Rin pursed her lips. For now, _Lin_ would have to do until she regained her voice. Otherwise, she might as well spend the rest of the day with this woman, mouthing the same words over and over, and have her guess everything under the sun other than the one Rin was intending to say.

The woman smiled brightly. "Well, then, Lin, my name's Koharu." She extended a hand toward the little girl, and Rin caught it gratefully. "Shall we proceed?"

Rin once again gave her sign of acquiescence, and the two of them proceeded to leave the forest.

"You wouldn't _believe_ how surprised I was to find lying on the forest floor like that on the way back home, Lin. I mean, here I was, coming back from filling my vessel with water from the lake – and by the way, did you know that I made this clay vessel all by myself? It isn't as great a feat as it looks, but –"

Rin soon tuned out of Koharu's endless prattle, her cheery voice reduced to nothing but a background drone, as she spotted the village they were approaching, analysing in her own way, her current situation.

What _had_ been the thing that had attacked her the previous night? It might've been a powerful demon, she was not sure… and what had happened to Jaken? Had Lord Sesshoumaru found him alright? Will Lord Sesshoumaru find _her_? He would search for her, alright – she had no doubts about that – and she had enough faith in his abilities to be sure that he'd find her sooner or later.

She squeezed Koharu's hand as she tried to reassure herself thus, and the older woman continued her prattle with renewed vigour, assuming that Rin was enjoying the conversation.

_Everything will be alright_, Rin told herself. _Lord Sesshoumaru and Jaken will find me, my head will heal, and voice will return – and everything will be normal again._

_Normal…_

She would've seriously reconsidered her words, had she the faintest idea of how quickly – and how drastically – they were to be disproved.

* * *


	4. IV

**_A/N:_** Well, whaddya know – the story's back on its feet again. Sorry for the delay, thanks for the reviews and here's hoping that this chapter makes clear where exactly I'm going with this thing…

_**IV**_

Time, slowly sifting by.

Kagome Higurashi watched through half-lidded eyes as Miroku argued in low tones with his perpetually drunk mentor, Mushin. The cup of water she held in her hand shook as she forced down an enormous yawn. There was something heavy in the air about Mushin's temple, and it was, aside from making her philosophical, was also making her incredibly _sleepy_.

It just sifted by, with no purpose, no end.

"So this is Miroku's 'great idea'," Inu Yasha growled from beside her, arms folded crossly over his chest. He didn't seem to be affected by the heaviness. "And here I was, expecting something _useful_ for a change."

Kagome frowned. _Miroku's doing his best, after all… what right has he to criticise him?_ She didn't feel that she had the strength to voice out her chide, however, and settled for just slapping Inu Yasha on the elbow. Besides, why should she waste her voice on him?

No purpose. No end. No meaning.

"I've heard that this temple houses a rather extensive library," Sango said, drooping on her boomerang weapon as she fought off sleepiness herself. "Maybe Miroku thought he'd find something about the creature there. He _did_ seem pretty knowledgeable about the seal – maybe, just maybe, he knows what he's doing." She finally sighed, and slid to a sitting position. "If he isn't, well, we'll just have to scout it ourselves."

Why? Why did this kind of life go on?

"Hmph." Inu Yasha gave one of his majestic snorts. "And how? You say this thing might have a connection to Naraku. In case ya haven't noticed, Sango, Naraku has gotten much better at hiding himself these days." Shippo suddenly jumped onto his lap. "Wait a second, Inu Yasha," the young kitsune said seriously. "There was something wrong in that sentence."

Such a life of insanity wasn't permitted by nature.

In response to Inu Yasha's curious glare, Shippo said, "Well, if Naraku is hiding himself better these days, of _course_ Sango wouldn't have noticed, ya know what I mean?" This was replied to with a furious "Wise cracker, eh?" and the _thud_ of well-worn knuckles meeting a fluffy demonic head. Kagome smiled wanly. _At least Shippo's still in good spirits…_

No – Life must move on to better things, greater things. Must evolve.

Inu Yasha watched sullenly as Miroku disappeared into an inner chamber along with his mentor. "What's wrong with you two?" he asked finally, after a few minutes of tense silence. "I know humans are weak, but _come on_. We haven't even fought in over four days."

The infidels must be vanquished, and true power, better power, _greater_ power must reign.

"Just shut it, Inu Yasha," Kagome said wearily, coming to rest in a sitting position beside Sango. "This is already a very testing situation – you're just making it worse." She closed her eyes, hoping that the faint throbbing behind her forehead wasn't the sign of an impending headache. She felt so cold…

Only then can things reach a full circle, restart, reform… and restore.

Inu Yasha, noting Kagome's shivering body, pulled off his red haori and wrapped it around her trembling form. She didn't seem to notice the gesture, however. The hanyou sighed – this was taking longer than he had hoped it would. To top off the agony of waiting, for some convoluted reason, both Kagome and Sango seemed very, very tired – and very, very irate. It _could_ be the unusual chill, or the uncomfortable atmosphere, but _really_. Were they fighters or housewives?

Restore a life of hope, of new beginnings, of sanity, of _light_.

Sango shifted uncomfortably. She desperately wanted to go to sleep, but knew that she couldn't afford to. Had to keep an eye on surroundings… be aware… Gods, it was chill… it seemed to seep into her muscles, bones, her very _being_, creating an icy core within her heart. And from that core emanated wanton whispers…

Before the restoration, however, the present insanity must be _eliminated_.

Inu Yasha jumped up with an "ah-finally!" air as Miroku entered the room at long last. The monk looked rather haggard, Inu Yasha noted. His lips were set in a thin, grim line, and he held a yellowed scroll of parchment in a tight grip in his hand. "I might have found the answer," Miroku said in a low voice. "But it's not good."

Darkness precedes every light.

* * *

A sudden swelling… a great explosion…

The great Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks, hand tightening on the hilt of the Tokijin. He looked to the skies as a strange darkness permeated the azure blue, and a chill wind played with his long hair. _This is strange… why do I smell…?_

His eyes widened as the Tenseiga started rattling violently within its sheath. He pulled it out, his surprise escalating as the steel blade darkened, its shining surface now a glossy black – a mirror of black night. For the first time in his life, Sesshoumaru found himself unable to comprehend what was going on around him. Why would the Tenseiga get corrupted? More importantly, how?

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. _Maybe, Jaken…_

_Rin_.

Nearly tangible rage gathered around his form, as he followed the scent of his loyal vassal and the little girl to the destroyed riverbank, taking in the destruction in a practised glance. He finally spotted Jaken higher up the bank, lying in a pool of his own blood. The frog demon's skull had split after an explosive contact with a nearby rock, and he was clearly dead.

Sesshoumaru unsheathed the Tenseiga once again, levelling the blade over Jaken's corpse. Through a black-tinted inner eye, he spotted the messengers of the dead frolicking over Jaken's body. In a swift stroke, he obliterated the goblin-like creatures and watched as Jaken's injuries disappeared, and the green-skinned demon opened his eyes. "L-Lord Ses-Sesshoumaru!" He scrambled to his feet. "I t-thank the lords you found us, Lord Sesshoumaru. It was _terrible_, it…"

"Jaken." His master's cold voice stopped him in his tracks. "Where is Rin?"

"R-Rin?" Jaken cast a nervous glance further down the bank. "She – she was fishing there, my Lord, when this – this _wave_ of catastrophic proportions – I have no idea as to what caused it, though the brief swelling of energy I felt a few moments before it struck might provide a clue – it washed her away into the forest and…" Suddenly he threw himself at Sesshoumaru's feet. "I'm so _sorry_, my Lord! Really, I _tried_! I –"

"Quiet, Jaken. I will not punish you yet." Sesshoumaru turned, concentrating on finding Rin's scent. He could detect it faintly nearby a copse of trees, but the water hindered with his sense of smell, making Rin's signature weak and indistinct. One thing was obvious, however – she was nowhere in the nearby vicinity. Even the force of the water couldn't have carried her so far back in. New misgivings – the cause of which he couldn't place – cropped up in his mind, and the renewed rattling of the corrupted Tenseiga in his hand sealed his decision. "We will find her."

_No matter what.

* * *

_

"Not good?"

Miroku sighed and gripped the scroll tighter. "This matter greatly concerns your brother, Inu Yasha."

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes. "Sesshoumaru has something to do with this creature?"

"He possesses the Tenseiga, am I correct?"

"Yes, but –" Miroku interrupted him by putting up a palm. "To explain this, I must refer to the matter of the Sacred Jewel. It was made as a fusion of four souls, a manifestation of Priestess Midoriko's power, yes? Well, the Tenseiga was created in pretty much the same way."

"You mean by the power of somebody like Midoriko?" Kagome asked, eyeing the scroll with interest.

Miroku shrugged. "It might be. I cannot be sure. Well, it is said that the great Dog General – Inu Yasha's father – met with an incredibly powerful foe in the prime of his youth, centuries ago. This was no demon though, but a half-demon priestess, with extraordinary spiritual powers. While fighting a losing battle with your father, she called on her last and most desperate measure." Miroku sat down, deeply involved in his narration. "She summoned the evil forces from the barrier between life and death – where I believe your father's grave is located now – and sold her soul and body to it. The evil took on a physical manifestation in her body.

"This time it was Inu Yasha's father who was on the losing end of the battle. After all, the combined forces of the netherworld are nothing to be taken lightly. At the last minute – one could say when practically at the threshold of defeat – he sunk his fang into the creature, skewering it through its heart."

"Heart?" Sango repeated sceptically.

"I was only talking figuratively," Miroku said. "Well, through whatever that powered the creature. And despite the fact that the creature wasn't completely vanquished, it was subdued enough by your father to allow the great spiritual men of the age to seal it – for what they hoped was ever – underground in that grave we… _stumbled_ into. And as for the fang…"

"It was used to make the Tenseiga," Inu Yasha finished quietly.

"That's right."

"It _does_ explain a lot," Kagome said thoughtfully. "Like how it has the power to bring people back from the dead, for one. And also, how it's so effective against creatures in the barrier between life and death."

Miroku nodded. "I'm not completely sure I understand the dynamics of how that works, but the root is basically how you said it is, Kagome."

Inu Yasha gave an impatient snort. "That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain how this creature managed to break the seal. What happened?"

Miroku ran a hand through his hair. "That is what I do not understand, Inu Yasha. By all accounts, the creature should've remained sealed – forever. What event could've provoked it into awakening, I do not know…"

"Event?" Shippo cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"What he means to refer to is the tidings of the prophecy." The others looked up to see a remarkably sober Mushin enter the room. He gazed at them tiredly. "Tell them, Miroku."

The monk looked rather reluctant, but he resumed his narrative. "It is prophesied that, the day the creature _does_ awaken, the world is doomed to come to an end. All of the present life, society, history – will be vanquished, making way for new life to bloom." Miroku shook his head. "It _could_ be some errant, ancient rumour, or –" He stopped abruptly, clutching the scroll tightly. His words hung in the air and an uncomfortable silence ensued, before Inu Yasha broke it.

"So how will this 'end' come about, then?"

"It is said that we will bring it upon ourselves. There will be darkness, and hatred, and a war, the likes of which history has never witnessed before. And when the catastrophe reaches a full circle, there… there will be nothing left."

"And you think _that's_ what's going to happen?" Inu Yasha gave a short laugh. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there's got to be dozens of so-called 'prophecies' like that. None of them ever come true."

The four humans in the room narrowed their eyes, before Miroku sighed. "I really hope you're right, Inu Yasha."

"But anyway," Kagome broke in, "Do you think we ought to find this creature?"

"We've already got our hands full trying to find Naraku," Sango reminded her. "Besides, I'm sure we'll run into it." Suppressing a yawn, she rose to her feet. "But whatever it is, we ought to leave now. Thanks, Mushin, for –"

"Wait," Miroku's mentor interrupted. "You should at least know this: if the prophecy ever looks like it's going to come true, then the Tenseiga is our only hope. I don't know, how, or when, but… I do know it."

"I hope it doesn't come true, then," Inu Yasha said, "if only for the fact that I never want to have to depend on Sesshoumaru for anything, and –" he stopped abruptly, his nose twitching. "I smell blood – lots of it. Human blood."

Kagome got up as well, suddenly infused with new energy. "Human blood? But the nearest village is simply _miles_ away!"

"It _is_ rather indistinct," Inu Yasha admitted, "but there's enough of it to actually reach my nose, all the way out here. I can say with certainty that there's been a massacre in a nearby village."

Sango gasped. "You don't think that… it's that _creature_…?"

Inu Yasha's lips set themselves into grim lines. "We won't know unless we check it out ourselves." He gestured for Kagome to get onto his back. "We'd better get there as fast as we can. Thanks, old man, for… well, whatever you said." With that, he took off with Kagome.

Miroku and Sango quickly expressed their gratitude as well, before taking off after their companions on a transformed Kirara, along with Shippo. Mushin watched their fast receding forms into the sunset before trudging back in, and opening a concealed cupboard – and his secret stash of sake. Pulling out and opening a bottle, he lugged in a mighty gulp. He finally removed the half-empty bottle from his lips and wiped off the sake that had dribbled onto his moustache. He eyed the remaining bottles with a bittersweet smile.

"Better finish this off before the world ends – hate to see good sake go to waste."

* * *

Misery might love company, but evil hates it.

Half demon Naraku, foe of millions, extended a tentacle into the abyss above which his temporary abode was located, dipping it into the icy chill water of the river that flowed through. The tentacle finally closed around a large, struggling trout, whose struggles stopped abruptly as poison entered its blood. Naraku brought up the limp fish, ripping it apart with further appendages that sprouted from his body. He watched with a hungry gleam in his eyes as the blood escaped the body of the trout in a short-lived, gory fountain, accompanied by still-writhing innards. Naraku tore it into further pieces before finally throwing the carcass into a corner. He had no intention to eat it. Something was wrong that night…

The sky roiled with inexplicable energy, the heaviness in the air making his hair stand on end. But it was not the sign of an impending storm, he knew. It was something deeper, darker.

And he didn't like that, not one bit.

A quiet, if young voice came to life by his side. "Naraku," it said. "What is this thing I'm sensing?"

"What do _you_ think it is?"

"I – I'm not sure." The owner of the voice – a young boy – came into view. His light-coloured, almost dead eyes gazed at the restless skies speculatively. "Seems to me that a great spiritual force is at work here. Do you think it might be Kikyo?"

Naraku's eyes narrowed. "I cannot be sure." He got up. "Which is why I call upon your services, Hakudoshi. Find the source of this unrest. Kill it if you can."

Hakudoshi's emotionless eyes betrayed surprise. "You will not consider the possibility of an alliance with something so powerful?"

"No." Naraku clenched his fist in a rare show of anger. "I do not understand this force, and I will not associate with things I do not understand, or with things for which I have no use. I eliminate them. Go now, Hakudoshi – you have no more need to question my intentions."

"As you wish, Naraku," Hakudoshi said, and soon disappeared from the room. Naraku watched as the boy receded into the night, mounted on the demon horse Entei. He knew that Hakudoshi wouldn't be able to defeat… whatever it was. But Naraku needed the valuable information regarding it, and Hakudoshi was a necessary sacrifice. Even Hakudoshi could be brought back to life, but ignorance of this new threat meant the permanent loss of his monopoly.

There can exist only one evil.

* * *


	5. V

_**A/N:**_ Um… has it really been a whole year since I last updated this thing? ((blinks innocently))

Well, anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews. I realise that the previous chapters _could _use some fine-tuning, as can some of my characterisation (though I do not understand how I've anglicised Kouga in any way) and I will try to get down to some editing as soon as I can get some time. And my whole-hearted thanks to those who nominated/voted for this story in the IYFG last year. It came as a welcome encouragement at a time when I was ready to give up on this story.

Secondly, I would also like to express my overwhelming admiration for Rumiko Takahashi and the storyboard behind "_Inu Yasha_". How they manage such a melange of characters and plotlines so beautifully, I simply do _not_ know!

_**V**_

Rin could feel it calling to her.

She stumbled through the forest, clutching at the hand of a very talkative Koharu, while the skies began to darken, and a chill breeze made its cutting, icy way through the woods. And through it all, she could hear it: a voice – soft and plaintive at first, but slowly growing in intensity and pain – _so much pain _– until it seemed the hounds of hell were howling in her head, screaming raw pain and despair, desperately calling for help.

Calling to her.

She tugged on Koharu's hand, but the young woman didn't seem to notice. "I've now settled in Lord Kuranosuke's domain, you know," she was saying. "There's a rumour going around that a sudden change has come over the lord. That he's been gathering all his military forces for some grand assault against all demons." She crinkled her nose. "I can't say I blame him, don't you think?"

Rin squeezed the woman's hand again, gesturing wildly.

Koharu finally stopped. "What is it, Lin?" She looked up at the rapidly darkening skies. "Oh dear, I didn't think it was going to rain today. We'll get soaked if we try to go back home."

"_Come_," Rin tried to whisper. "_Come, he's calling to me_."

"But I know of a clearing with a small cave nearby where we can stay through the rain," Koharu said brightly. "Come on." She led Rin through the forest, weaving through the trees in a complicated pathway which would've had Rin, had she been in a better state of mind, wondering at the young woman's remarkable knowledge of the whereabouts. When they had finally reached the clearing, it had already begun to drizzle, cold needles of ice sliding down Rin's increasingly fevered body.

"Don't worry," Koharu was saying, "We're here now, and – oh!" She stopped abruptly, and Rin nearly walked into her. The woman seemed frozen in shock, staring with wide eyes at something in the middle of the clearing. Rin, more wary than curious, followed her gaze. Her eyes widened.

The ground was littered with the bodies of dead demons.

_Wolf _Demons.

The howling in her head reached a terrible crescendo, and she clutched at Koharu's hand tighter, as if the warm flesh were her only lifeline in what seemed to be a cold, bloodied, swirling pit of unending terror.

Despite all the horror, however, she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Koharu started laughing.

It wasn't the light, simpering giggles that Rin was used to hearing from the girl, nor was it like the laughter she had normally heard from humans. It was… was _cold_, there was no other word for it, _sinister_, with a certain inflection of pleasant surprise, as if somebody had surprised her with a gift she liked very much. Rin loosened her hold, then let go altogether, stepping back warily. She tripped over a nearby wolf-demon carcass in the process, and the putrid smell emanating from the corpse, already picked upon by vultures and smaller demons, and disintegrating in the light downpour, seemed to be the final seal on her terror, and Rin screamed.

A scream, which tore not out of her throat, but from something right in the middle of the corpses.

Male, agonised, and terrifying, it seemed to break Koharu out of her reverie. She blinked and turned to Rin, and then toward the direction of the source of the scream. "Something's still _alive_…?" she whispered, frowning and walking toward the middle of the bloody clearing. Rin's eyes followed her, wide, terrified.

Before Koharu could get there, however, an arm sprung out of the bloodied battleground, like a drowning creature clutching desperately at a straw, the deceptively human hand tipped with claws that gleamed in the moonlight. The scream resounded again, and despite the absence of some of its original rawness, Rin's heart still pounded against her ribs.

It now sounded _familiar_.

Koharu froze once again. "Wha – _what_?"

The scream continued to echo in Rin's head, joining the previous howling, transforming itself into words, spoken in gasps and rough whispers. _Help me help help please help help PLEASE HELP_

Rin frowned, and rose to her feet. The surreal experience of having died and then being brought back to life and good health had left her with maturity much beyond her years and a profound respect for the intricacies of the supernatural, disguised behind her childlike zest and enthusiasm. Even now, in such a terrifying environment, with a companion who was not all what she seemed to be, she trusted that voice, wanted to assuage the pain of its owner. She walked slowly toward the source of the scream, until she was standing right over it.

The leader of the demon wolf tribe, bearer of the two Jewel shards.

Her murderer.

Kouga.

He lay there on the muddied ground, writhing in obvious pain, mingled sweat, blood and rain running down his form in rivulets. Her eyes travelled to his exposed legs, where two peculiarly circular wounds stood out in garish prominence. The edges of the wound were rough and pale with spreading infection, and even as she watched, the demon skin tried to close over the wound, only to peel away once again. Something was stuck in there, something that wasn't allowing him to heal…

She knelt down, and with one small hand reached out to touch his wounded leg.

What she felt then was not what she expected to feel – there was no blinding white light that enveloped her universe, no instant of wondrous realisation, no cutting pain that numbed her senses. There was just an overwhelming _sympathy_, the likes of which she had almost never felt before – a thread of silent understanding that connected their souls through the rain, not entirely an alien feeling, but so _profound_…

"_You'll be okay_," she mouthed. "_I'll be by your side_."

His eyes opened, and a moment later, Koharu screamed.

* * *

The carnage was overwhelming.

Even in the soft rain, even in the distorted vision provided by the moonlight gleaming dully through the sheets of water, the sight of so many dead villagers was enough to make Kagome strongly nauseous. She… she was so _tired_ of seeing all this… if only… if only…

Inu Yasha walked past her, brow pulled into a frown, nose twitching. "There're a few demon bodies here, too," he said, almost as if he were confused. "That's kind of weird."

"Weird?" Kagome's voice rose to a shrill pitch. "I can't believe you! You see all this, and all you have to say is '_weird_'?"

Inu Yasha's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, calm down, woman," he said. "I only meant that these demons are too strong to have been killed by simple villagers in a battle, without the help of an army of some sort."

"So you mean to say that…"

"The villagers attacked first," Sango finished, walking up to them, Miroku close behind her, a visibly disturbed Shippo on his shoulder. "That doesn't make any sense," the young demon said. "Why would the villagers suddenly _want_ to fight demons that weren't even attacking them? I mean, isn't it usually the other way around?"

"I think that's exactly why they did it," Miroku said quietly. "And I cannot honestly say that I blame them for it."

Sango gave a bittersweet smile. "And perhaps it is something we ought to have done from the beginning."

Inu Yasha shook his head in disbelief. "You guys are _crazy_. All you humans are." He snorted. "I oughta have worked alone from the start." He fully expected Kagome to hotly remind him of all of the times she and the others had saved him, how she was the one who was able to detect the Jewel shards, in short, display that extraordinarily irritating human sense of supreme self-importance.

What she did say instead, however, floored him like nothing had ever done before in his considerably long life.

"Maybe you're right."

He squinted at her through the rain. "_What_?"

"Maybe you're right," she said, her voice still calm, but with angry tears gathering in her eyes. "I never ought to have tried to help you in the first place."

Inu Yasha's frown deepened for a moment, before his face cleared. "Hey listen, woman," he said, "If this is some kinda new method, emotional blackmail or whatever, to try and make me do whatever you want me to do, let me tell you this: it ain't working."

Kagome opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, a colder, deeper male voice cut through. "'Emotional blackmail,' you call it?" A small laugh. "How quaint."

They turned as one to see Sesshoumaru standing behind them, looking strangely angelic in the falling rain, serene face framed by long silver hair that glowed softly. Inu Yasha lifted a corner of his lips in an angry snarl.

"You don't realise what has happened, do you?" Sesshoumaru continued.

"What I _realise_," Inu Yasha growled, hand moving toward the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, "is that you're being unusually talkative today. Cut the crap if you wanna fight."

"Oh, I'm not here to fight," Sesshoumaru said, still unruffled. "Your companions will keep you with enough on your plate, I'm sure."

"What in hell are you _talking_ about?"

"Don't you realise, Inu Yasha? Humans and demons cannot _co-exist_ anymore. The time has come to decide who is the master of this world." A corner of his lips lifted slightly in a shadow of a sneer as he looked to Kagome and the others. "I'm sure your _companions_ have realised this, even if you haven't."

"Wha –?" Inu Yasha looked toward his travel companions, then turned to Sesshoumaru again, only to find out that he was already gone. "Feh," he snorted. "Ran away like usual. Thinks he's so smart, thinks the rain can hide his scent… feh." He took a deep breath, and tried to sound nonchalant. "So you guys have any idea 'bout what he was talking?"

"No," Kagome said shortly. She turned to Miroku and Sango. "We need to give these villagers a proper burial…"

"Of course," Sango nodded, and walked towards the scattered corpses, Shippo and Kirara trotting with her. Inu Yasha moved to help, still muttering under his breath about 'insane humans' and 'even more insane demon stepbrothers'. Miroku turned as well, before Kagome clutched at his robe. "I can't take this anymore," she whispered. "I wonder if it's better that I just go home."

Miroku gently removed her hand from his robe, and held it between his palms. She looked up at him, and he wondered at what a vision she was, how the raindrops gleamed on her silky black hair like small pearls, how her beautiful brown eyes sparkled with unshed tears… did Inu Yasha really deserve her? "You must not lose hope, Kagome," he said quietly. "If you go, then who will remain by mine and Sango's side to vanquish the demons?"

"Vanquish the demons," Kagome repeated, leaning gently into his open arms. He released her hand and gently wrapped his arms around her slender form. "You know," she whispered. "That keeps sounding better and better to me." She closed her eyes and smiled into his robes. "Maybe the world would be better off without them."

"Yes…"

As they tightened their embrace, a chill gust of wind blew past them, _through_ them, enveloping their souls into darkness.

* * *

Kikyo was tired.

A simple statement, maybe, but it implied a soul-devouring exhaustion that transcended mere physical boundaries; she wasn't even sure if the word 'physical' could be associated with her anymore. A perceptible heaviness in the air seemed to be burdening even her tainted soul with malice the depth of which she hadn't witnessed in years – she had only read of this kind of power before, nearly a century ago, in a long-forgotten place that had nestled among happier times.

The decimated Mount Hakurei loomed ominously in the distance, and the chill wind, light downpour and roiling skies made the environment even more terrifying. Kikyo stopped walking, her long hair flying in the strong wind, the raindrops barely touching her parchment-white skin. _Maybe it __**is**__time after all_, she thought. _Time for the paths of humans and demons to diverge._

_Time for the birth of a new world_.

What place, she wondered, did her kind have in such a world?

"Just what… just what _is_ this power?"

Kikyo did not need to turn to know that the voice, young as it was cold, curious as it was callous, belonged to Hakudoshi, Naraku's spawn. Entei snorted jets of fire through its nostrils behind her, even the demon horse struggling in the cold. "It is the power of change," she said. "The greatest power of them all."

"Change?" She could almost _feel_ Hakudoshi's sneer. "Change that not even we can face?"

"It is powerful because it is inevitable," Kikyo said. "The world is undergoing a transition, and we have no way to stop it. We can only hope that we survive to live in that new world." She smiled. "I'm sure that concept isn't alien to you, and your… _master_."

"Ah, yes: change and death, the only two constants in this world." He gave a short laugh. "We… _live_ in an era where there are ways to even cheat _death _– something I'm sure that isn't alien to _you_ – and where ultimate spiritualism shares the land with ultimate evil. So you see, the question isn't whether _we_ can survive change, it is about whether _change_ can survive _us_."

Entei then rose into the air above her, its fiery plumes cutting through the darkness. "We will find this power," Hakudoshi said. "We will find it and we will destroy it, for Naraku can not only transcend death, but change and time itself."

Kikyo did not reply; the rain continued to pour down, harder than ever.

Entei flew toward the decimated mountain, at the centre of which Kikyo could feel the power start to gather itself. Atop the wasted peak then appeared a remarkable creature, its terrible maw widening in a grotesque facsimile of a grin. The wind velocity increased to reach a crescendo, and Kikyo thought, with something approaching awe, _That is it. That is it!_

Hakudoshi extended his arm; the skin there rippled, and out of it rose a spear made of sharp demon bone. He held it in his hand like a javelin, and spurred his horse to approach the creature. The great horse shied and snorted in mid-air, hesitant, perhaps even afraid, but with another violent spur from the spear, continued in its path to the creature.

The creature did not move; it merely opened its mouth.

Kikyo's eyes widened for the first time that day at the miasma emanating from that mouth, the malice, the _hate_, so tangible that they seemed to be tentacles, wrapping around a surprised Hakudoshi's form, entrapping the horse and the spear, pulling them in, slowly, inexorably, into that fearsome maw. The barrier that Naraku had taken such pains to construct to protect him and his spawn seemed nothing to the creature, as both a struggling Hakudoshi and Entei were pulled into the creature. A rubbery tongue then extended and swiped at the lipless mouth, before the great yellow eyes turned upon her. She stood unflinching, before the creature finally turned, and faded into the wind.

_An agent of change_, she thought, _a messenger of death, informing us of our choice. For no more can humans and demons occupy the same land: they must fight for survival until only one race is left remaining_. She turned, and raised her eyes to the swarm of saimyoshou hovering above her. The insects buzzed indecisively, before turning and flying away. Kikyo smiled, a smile of melancholy resignation. _Fight, Naraku. Fight while you can_.

She continued to walk down her own endless road.


End file.
